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SOULS OR SALES?       DO 2787 5/91
--Which Are You After?--Why Not Both?
--By Maria       Maria #161

       
(A talk given in May, '91, & later read by all Summit '92 attendees, prompting their discussion about the need to get out more Word to the World!)
       1. I've been concerned for some time now about our worldwide outreach, particularly our Poster distribution, our getting out the Message the Lord has given us. The Kiddie Viddies are great & they're helping all kinds of little kids around the World, but what about their parents, what about the adults? And what are we doing with the Message, the real meaty Message that the Lord expects us to get to the World?
       2. We're responsible to give the adults the Word too.--Not just the children. It's not enough to just give the children Videos with good morals in them that maybe have a little mention of God once in a while. Our main job is to be Prophets to the World & to give them the Endtime Message, & the message of the coming Kingdom of God, & the message of Salvation!
       3. I know that our distribution of Posters has decreased in a lot of places for two reasons. First, support: It logically seems like you should be able to get more income through the Videos. Secondly, because of fear of being identified. We're more easily identified as being with the Family through our Posters. But I'm very concerned that we aren't getting out the meaty Message to the World that we're supposed to. I don't know if the Lord is going to bless us if we withhold His warnings.
       4. So a question that has come up is, how are we going to get more Word out? We're doing great on Video distribution now, but it looks like we've very drastically decreased the number of Posters being distributed in many places. The Posters are the real Message that we want to get to the adults, whereas the Videos, while they're very life-changing for the children, don't really do much for the adults.
       5. We need to give the message of Salvation to the adults, & we need to give them the message of the Endtime as well! So I've been thinking & praying about it, & I've just about concluded that unless some unusual circumstances in their particular field don't allow it, then our Family Members could give out a free Poster with every Video. And in any places where they don't feel they should give out Posters with the Videos, I think we should at least give out a Salvation tract or a tract about the Endtime with every Video distributed. That way we'll at least be giving the adults some clear witness along with the Video for their kids.
       6. But cases in which it would not be wise or expedient to give out the Posters with the Videos will probably be rare. I think the best thing to do in most circumstances would be for us to get down to business with the Lord & just get over that fear of being identified with the Posters. After all, they are the unique picture-Message that the Lord has given us to pass on to the World! It seems like we should have the faith that the Lord will keep & protect & prosper us if we're being faithful to obey Him & get out His Message. The Posters are the main tool that God has given us to reach the GP, & we're known by them, & we will be known by them & we should be known by them! They're the special message that the Lord wants us to be identified with.

       Finding the Balance!

       7. The leaders from one field reported that they've had so much personal witnessing recently, their field has now almost gone to the opposite extreme of nothing but personal witnessing & soul-winning, & their distribution of the tools has dropped drastically. So now they're learning to strike a better balance. And that's what I think everyone needs to do: Combine their witnessing & distribution of the tools, & always try to do both. If you personally witness to somebody, or you're singing them a song & looking into their eyes & telling them you love them & that Jesus loves them, & you get them to pray & receive the Lord, then why can't you offer them a Poster, Tape or Video on top of it?
       8. I think we should always be conscious of both at the same time, whichever comes first. If the DTD Video distribution comes first & you're going out as a Kiddie Viddie or Treasure Attic educational video distributor, then you can sell them a Video & give them a tract along with it, or a Poster or something. And even if you don't manage to sell them a Video, you can still give them a tract or a Poster.--That way, at least you're leaving a witness with everybody.

       When They Don't Want a Tool,
Give'm a Tract!

       9. I'm concerned about all the doors our people knock on where the people say, "No, I'm sorry, I don't want to take a Video." I wonder if our people at least witness to them? I know that doing this is going to take more time, but it seems we could at least give them a tract at each door. I'd be surprised if all of our people are presently doing this. Maybe that's one reason why the Lord's not blessing them as much as He'd like to in some cases. Because if you're meeting these people, they open their doors, & you're standing there face-to-face with them & all you're trying to do is make a Video sale but you don't witness to them, I don't think the Lord's going to bless that very much. You should at least give them a tract.--And leave them with a witness & a Salvation prayer.

       
God Blesses Witnessing!

       10. I don't know whether the Lord's going to bless just trying to make a Video sale without giving a witness. On the other hand, maybe the reason the Lord sometimes allows them to refuse to buy a Video is because He wants you to go ahead & try to get them saved first. Of course, some people aren't going to be open & receptive to you & your Message, no matter what your approach is, they just don't "want the books," period. But if you're standing there at their open front door, & you start openly witnessing to them & telling them about the Lord, you're going to find out pretty quickly whether they're sheepy & receptive to the Gospel or not.
       11. If they are sheepy, it's going to be worth your time to take that hour or so that you need to really witness to them, because the Lord's going to bless you for it, & you're probably going to make a sale of a Video or a Tape afterwards. Even if they don't take a Video or Tape, the Lord will probably bless you that way at one of the next houses or apartments that you come to.
       12. But I think it becomes pretty apparent when you're going door to door, if people "want the books" or not. Once you start openly witnessing to them about the Lord, you're going to find out right away if they're open or not. If they're really receptive, they'll probably invite you in to continue talking to them in the comfort of their home. People will usually make their intentions pretty clear right at the beginning.
       13. And if your initial approach was to offer them a Video or a Tape, & they say, "Oh no, I don't want a Video, I don't want a Tape," you can say, "Well, wait a minute, that's perfectly all right. But I would just like to tell you about something that I can give you for free.--I'd like to tell you that you can have Jesus & His free gift of Eternal Life just by asking Him into your heart, & it won't cost you a thing!"--Or however you want to present it.
       14. I think we're really missing an opportunity to witness if we don't do that. In some cases they may not be so receptive & they'll say, "Sorry, I don't want to talk about Jesus either," but then at least you've done your part. But many times, & I've heard quite a few of our Family testimonies to this effect, if they finally did get the person saved, then they said, "Oh, what did you say you were selling?--Yes, I'll take a Video! I'll take a Tape!" Because the Spirit of the Lord has worked in them & they're so thankful. They'll take your product just out of thanks to you for leading them to the Lord.
       15. So I wonder if that's an area where a lot of our people might really be missing the mark. I think that either way, we should use both together, whichever way we start out: If we start out selling the Video & we end with a witness, or if we begin with the witness, & then we offer them the Tape or the Video or the Poster afterwards. I think we should try to do that more & then we'll have a better balance, & I think the Lord will bless us more for it.
       16. And at the same time, I think He'll bless us monetarily, financially.--Like we heard about one of our people in Italy who is a Video shiner: When he's met people to whom he's going to offer the Videos, he makes a real effort to lead them to the Lord & get them saved, that's his major purpose. Then along with giving them the Salvation message & even leading them to the Lord, he offers them the Videos. He was our top Video shiner in Italy.
       17. In a testimony of how he manages to get out so many Videos, this brother, Davide, wrote:

       "I've personally found that the most important thing in witnessing is to lift up Jesus. So when I have their attention, I give them my personal testimony, sharing briefly how the Lord has changed my life, what I used to do before, etc. I tell them that God loves them & that He wants to forgive their sins & give them the free gift of Eternal Life. I have them read the verse 1John 5:13, `These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life, & that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.' I then explain to them what it means, & I ask them questions to see if they have understood & if they know that they have Eternal Life. I then assure them that if they believe on & personally receive Jesus, they can know that they have Eternal Life right now.
       "Many of them pray & receive Jesus right then & there, & they then realise that we are not just salesmen who are trying to sell them our products, but that we are giving them the most precious thing: Jesus & His Eternal Gift of Salvation. When I make witnessing & winning others the most important thing, the Lord always blesses the distribution of the Videos also, financially & with new friends & contacts, etc. TYJ! So it always pays to put Jesus first, not only in our personal lives, but in the lives of others as well!"

       18. So I think we really need to find the proper balance in this, & not neglect to witness & try to win all those we come into contact with. If we're presenting ourselves primarily as Video distributors, we're still going to have to be faithful to witness. And if we're going to concentrate primarily on personal witnessing, we're going to have to be more faithful to get out the tools--the Posters, Tapes & Videos--at the same time. God help us to be faithful to truly "preach the Word, in season & out of season" (2Tim.4:2), to sow the good seed of God's Word whenever we have the opportunity to do so!--Amen? GBY!

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